The recent global pandemic has had a huge impact on how people interact with their favorite brands. For instance, one can no longer simply visit a store’s physical location due to various restrictions. That’s why online shopping has grown in popularity, thanks to the government restrictions put in place immediately after the pandemic struck. Although normal operations have resumed in many fields, many customers have continued to embrace the new changes in shopping.
As a business, you need to market products and services where your potential customers are situated, especially if you’re looking to get their attention and drive traffic. With the ever-rising rate of smartphone devices, you can understand why most businesses today are investing in mobile marketing – from simple text messages to app development.
This article guides you through the basics of mobile marketing and some of the main tools and techniques you should consider when looking to traffic in this world of marketing.
What is mobile marketing?
Mobile marketing is the process of advertising products and services to potential customers through devices such as smartphones and tablets. This advertising strategy takes advantage of various features installed in most mobile devices. For instance, push notifications to make it easier for marketers to reach their potential customers, provided they have the brand’s app installed.
Based on the current statistics, there are over six billion mobile phone users, and that’s only to grow even further in the coming years. In fact, it’s estimated that the number will increase by another billion in the next three or four years. Given the fact that mobile traffic accounts for more than 50% of web traffic, you can see why mobile marketing should be one of your priorities. (1)
Apart from playing a huge role in web traffic, smartphones are an essential part of today’s online shopping experience. Many online shoppers use their smartphones to accomplish these tasks rather than their desktop computers or laptops. They use these devices to do regular research on products and services before making the actual purchases. Therefore, if you get your mobile marketing strategies right, you’ll be able to fuel your business growth within no time.
Mobile marketing tools and techniques
Every successful business, whether online or offline, has a set of marketing tools and techniques they use to strengthen their campaigns. So, if you’re looking to compete with some of the best companies in the field, you’ll also need to invest in the best mobile marketing tools possible.
Some of the methods that should feature in your list include social media, in-app, proximity, location-based, and SMS marketing. Keep reading to learn more about these tools and techniques, such as Twitter Ad Specs.
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Ringless voicemail
The first on the list of most popular methods in the world of mobile marketing is ringless voicemail. A ringless voicemail sends audio messages to voicemail boxes of potential customers. The reason why it’s called ringless is that these messages are delivered without the phone ringing. This is an advantage because, as a business, you’ll be able to market your products and services without necessarily being a nuisance to the recipient.
The customer will also be able to listen to your message whenever they’re free. And this is beneficial to the recipient because they can go about their daily chores without any disturbance. Your business also benefits from this because when customers listen to your messages in their free time, they’ll be able to capture all the information, and there are high chances that they’ll make a follow-up immediately.
Before investing in this marketing strategy, it’s worth noting that although this technique is effective, it only makes sense under specific circumstances. For instance, you can use it to make follow-ups, send holiday greetings, or remind your audience about an upcoming conference.
Also, while still in this planning stage, it’s important to decide on the type of software to use in your campaigns. Drop Cowboy ringless voicemail, for instance, is one of the most popular in this field because it combines both ringless voicemail and text message marketing. Having these two features in one package allows you to enhance two campaigns at an affordable price.
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SMS marketing technique and tools
One of the most common mobile marketing techniques is SMS marketing. Basically, this is a form of advertisement that relies on text messages. As a business, once you have the contacts of your potential customers, you can text them and let them know about any new offers. Note that there are some rules you must meet before launching your campaigns, depending on the state laws within your region.
The reason why text message marketing is very powerful is because of its high open-rate. Once you’ve sent messages to your potential customers, there’s a 98% probability they’ll be able to read the texts after they’ve been delivered to their cellphones. The response rate (45%) of this marketing technique is also very impressive, with most people getting back to the sender within one and a half minutes. (3)
Also, the fact that many people walk around with their phones makes SMS marketing quite effective. It’s worth noting that all modern mobile phones support push notifications for incoming texts. That, in itself, makes it even much easier for companies to reach their potential customers through this method.
Keep in mind, though, that SMS texts are very short (not more than 160 characters), which means you can’t include everything you want to share in one message. At the same time, it would be suicidal to send several messages to one recipient at the same time. The best way to counter this shortcoming is by including a link to your website or a code that customers can use when they need further information.
So, which tools can help you enhance your SMS marketing strategy? Text blast software is one of those mechanisms in which you should invest in this day and age. This software program allows you to send bulk messages simultaneously, saving you the trouble of manually texting every individual in your contact list. Other tools you’ll need are text scheduling applications, which will help you organize your campaigns and schedule when the next set of texts will be sent.
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Social media marketing
Most, if not all, smartphone owners today have access to at least one social media platform. Facebook and WhatsApp are the most popular, with more than half of internet users having them on their phones. Other commonly used platforms include Twitter and Instagram, and all of them are home to billions of users. Therefore, it makes total sense to prioritize social media and make it one of your primary mobile marketing techniques. (2)
So, how do you go about it? You’ll first need to create an account with any or all of the aforementioned platforms. While doing so, make sure you use your brand’s name and complete your profile with all the necessary official details.
Remember, this arena is filled with a lot of scammers, which makes it hard for users to trust any new account. So, it’s your job to earn their trust by using genuine information and generating regular posts. Responding to comments and private messages with the utmost professionalism is another way of ensuring that you attract and keep your customers.
Creating a social media handle and engaging your followers through organic posts isn’t the only way to market your brand in this day and age. Most companies today invest in platform-based advertisement systems. For instance, Facebook Ads and Twitter’s promoted tweets have both played an important role in the growth of most modern businesses. With these strategies, one can easily reach hundreds of thousands of potential customers within a few hours. What’s more is these advertisement techniques are quite affordable even for start-ups.
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Social media management software
Running social media accounts for your business manually can work without too many obstacles if you’re still at the initial phase. However, you’re likely to experience rapid growth within the first few months, assuming you have an effective strategy in place. As such, you could end up with overwhelming social media engagements, which might require constant management from your side. This is where social media management tools come in handy.
A lot of software programs have been invented in recent years to help businesses boost their online visibility. These tools also help you improve the online reputation of your brand, which is crucial in the current market. Buffer and Hubspot, for instance, are some of the most popular tools used by companies today to keep their social media fans engaged and analyze the overall performance of their campaigns.
Of course, these social media tools come with their fair share of demerits. For one, the applications require skills for one to operate or even configure the basic features. In addition, these tools may be expensive, depending on your needs and the size of your company. It’s also important to keep in mind that as you use these software programs and social media in general, your mistakes and weaknesses are likely to be exposed to the public, and rival brands may take advantage of that. Therefore, make sure you’re careful about what you post on your pages and be ready to make amendments as soon as any mistakes occur.
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Location-based marketing
Another important tool in mobile marketing is the GPS function. This feature is found in every modern smartphone. When turned on, it shows the approximate location of the users, which is an important factor if you’re looking to focus on location-based mobile marketing.
Location-based marketing, also known as geotargeting, is a form of marketing that uses the GPS feature installed on a potential customer’s smartphone to customize promotions accordingly. The marketers send out content to the users based on their location and what they’re likely to be interested in. (4)
It’s worth noting that this strategy can be integrated with other marketing techniques, such as social media marketing. For instance, when creating a Facebook Ad or Google Ad, you have the option of specifying the location of your target market. This way, you can be as specific as possible in your campaigns.
Advertising to a target audience increases your chances of success because whatever you’ll be offering will most likely appeal to those people. You’ll also enjoy more engagement as a business and better response from your target since the content is relevant to them and whatever they’re doing.
Unfortunately, though, depending on your marketing technique, this strategy might be limited to a given set of mobile users. For instance, there are many people who still use traditional cellphones that aren’t GPS-enabled. As such, you can’t target this audience through social media geolocation.
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In-app marketing
Every smartphone user today has several applications installed on their phone for various purposes. The most popular apps today include Instagram, Messenger, Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok. Of course, these are designed for communication and socialization, but there are many other apps used in the market today. For this reason, in-app advertising has grown rapidly in recent years and has become an effective mobile marketing strategy.
So, how do you go about advertising your products and services using this technique? Well, video ads, for one, are very common, and rightly so. People like watching videos rather than reading through paragraphs.
Alternatively, you can also use captivating banners that appear at the top of a given app’s screen. Interstitial ads are another form of in-app marketing, and these are mostly found in gaming apps. They appear when changing pages or when moving from one level of a game to another.
Conclusion
Mobile marketing is one of the oldest forms of advertising, yet it continues to play a significant role in the modern marketing arena, thanks to its effectiveness. Some of the most popular tools and techniques adapted today include ringless voicemail, in-app marketing, geotargeting, SMS, and social media marketing. Some of these forms of marketing may require extra tools for them to be effective. To increase social media engagements, for instance, you might need to invest in marketing management tools.
References
- “Number Of Smartphone Users From 2016 To 2021”, Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/
- “Social Media Marketing (SMM)”, Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media-marketing-smm.asp
- “What’s Old Is New Again: SMS Marketing”, Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2019/09/13/whats-old-is-new-again-sms-marketing/
- “What Exactly Is Geotargeting And Should You Advertise This Way?” Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/agency/pros-cons-geotargeting-paid-search